ACEN partners with US firm for local RE projects
ACEN Corp. has cleared another partnership with a US-based company to develop renewable energy projects in the Philippines.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, the listed energy company said its executive committee had approved a proposed tie-up with BrightNight APAC B.V. to establish a local renewable energy (RE) platform.
According to ACEN, the partners aim to “develop, construct, and operate utility-scale renewable energy projects in the Philippines, subject to, among others, execution of final definitive documents.”
The company did not disclose details of the RE platform that it seeks to establish.
BrightNight APAC is wholly owned by BrightNight LLC, which is designed to provide utility and commercial and industrial customers with “clean, dispatchable renewable power solutions.”
BrightNight has developed a renewable power portfolio of 2.7 gigawatts of alternating current (GWac) across the Philippines, India, Australia, and Bangladesh.
Of the total, 1 GWac is under development in the Philippines.
“This partnership in the Philippines, once completed, will be the second GW-scale renewable energy platform investment partnership between ACEN and BrightNight in APAC (Asia-Pacific),” ACEN said.
In March, ACEN signed a partnership with BrightNight to develop, construct, and operate large-scale hybrid wind-solar and “round-the-clock” renewable power projects in India.
Currently, ACEN has approximately 4,430 megawatts of attributable capacity spanning the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia.
At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in ACEN declined by seven centavos or 1.47% to close at P4.69 apiece.
Meanwhile, ENEX Energy Corp. said in a separate stock market disclosure that the Department of Energy had granted the request of the listed company’s subsidiary to extend the deadline to drill a well under Service Contract 55 (SC 55) by 18 months.
The subsidiary — Palawan55 Exploration and Production Corp. — has a contract with the government to explore an area in offshore west Palawan within a set timeline.
In a letter dated Dec. 1, the Energy department said “(given that SC 55 is currently still on force majeure, Palawan55 shall have a total of twenty-three (23) months (the five [5] months remaining plus the 18-month extension) from the lifting of force majeure to drill the committed well.”
The department earlier found a basis to place SC 55 under force majeure from Dec. 6, 2022 until such time that a clearance to proceed with exploration activities in the West Philippine Sea has been issued by the government. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
